The day before Spain played the European Championship final against England in Berlin, Germany, in July 2024, manager Luis de la Fuente announced the team would be welcoming a special guest. It was Spain’s most important match in a decade, and Gavi had to be there — De la Fuente called him “the 27th player

Italy can breathe again — for now, at least. A tension-racked evening in Bergamo saw Gennaro Gattuso’s side edge past Northern Ireland in their World Cup play-off semi-final and set up a meeting with Bosnia- Herzegovina on Tuesday. Second-half goals from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean proved enough, and while Italy’s performance was far from

Gennaro Gattuso admits ‘it was a struggle’ for Italy to beat Northern Ireland 2-0, but ‘now we go together into this final’ of the World Cup play-offs. The pressure was immense going into the semi-final in Bergamo, which only got worse as the clock ticked on with no breakthrough in sight. Advertisement Sandro Tonali finally

Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Wales away on penalties in the World Cup play-off semifinal, setting up a Final with Italy next Tuesday. The Azzurri beat Northern Ireland 2-0 in Bergamo on Tuesday night with goals from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean, while Bosnia needed penalties to earn a spot in the Final, beating Wales at

Former Bayern Munich and current German national team head coach Julian Nagelsmann wants to get Arsenal attacker Kai Havertz firmly back into the mix for Die Mannschaft and will start him against Switzerland on Friday. “Kai Havertz will start. He’s been away for a long time, we want to give him minutes. He also needs

Luke Littler produced form close to his sensational best to overpower Michael van Gerwen and win his third Premier League night of the season in Berlin. The 19-year-old beat the previous highest average (now 108.58) in Berlin in his semi-final victory over Gerwyn Price, but it was the final where he really turned it on.

In the 54 previous international matches between Switzerland and Germany (excluding East Germany and Saarland Auswahl), Germany have celebrated four times as many wins (W36 D9 L9) and scored more than twice as many goals (143-70) as the Swiss. Germany have played more international matches against Switzerland than any other opponent (54), including their first

Sandro Tonali admits Italy felt ‘tension’ during the 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland, but ‘have no option but to win’ in the World Cup play-off final. The Azzurri struggled to break Northern Ireland down at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo, until Tonali smashed in a strike from the edge of the area on 56

Atlético Madrid star Marcos Llorente has this week moved to reiterate his unwavering commitment to the cause in Spain’s capital. This comes by way of confirmation that the versatile full-back is keen to see out his playing days as a Rojiblancos player. Advertisement Llorente has of course long established himself as one of the first

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill explains how he aims to ‘cause Italy problems’ in tonight’s World Cup play-off, trying to rely on their ‘running power and athleticism.’ It kicks off at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo at 19.45 GMT (20.45 CET). Advertisement You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on

BASEL, Switzerland, March 26 (Reuters) – Germany will ⁠start revving their engine for this summer’s World Cup when they take on Switzerland in ⁠their friendly international in Basel on Friday despite the absence of injured players, coach ‌Julian Nagelsmann said. Germany are without several players including Jamal Musiala, Felix Nmecha and Aleksandar Pavlovic among others,

Senegal will present the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations trophy before Saturday’s friendly against Peru, doing so a week after the CAF appeals board rescinded their title and awarded it to Morocco after deeming that Senegal violated tournament rules. The African team announced Thursday that there will be a 15-minute trophy presentation before the game

Comments from Rodri about the possibility of playing for Real Madrid one day have generated debate among Manchester City fans. However, the reaction arguably misunderstands the player’s perspective and the unique place certain clubs occupy in football. Advertisement Rodri has admitted that he would like to return to Spain in the future and suggested that

THE SEMI FINAL HURDLE It’s Geopolitics World Cup playoff day, dear reader, and Gibraltar are playing Latvia in a winner-takes-all clash. Sadly, for football romantics, that game is the first leg of a Nations League promotion/relegation playoff. Uefa’s scheduling feels a bit cruel, like making some poor flunky do the graveyard shift while Bacchanalia Revisited